If you’ve worked in the hospice realm for any length of time, you may be familiar with Additional Development Requests (ADRs). An ADR is a request for medical documentation to ensure proper payment for provided Medicare services.

ADRs have been around for years. In 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced a new ADR strategy—Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE). TPE requests are designed to help hospice providers reduce and prevent improper payments, reduce appeals, decrease provider burden, and improve the medical review and education process.

Many common errors, such as a missing physician's signature are easily corrected. Yet, when an agency is “targeted” it is a definite call to action. It must be addressed within the parameters of the TPE guidelines, or the agency could be subject to a host of unpleasant consequences.

Richter Healthcare Consultants works closely with hospice agencies to navigate the complex realm of ADRs and TPE. Now, we have developed a new e-book that synthesizes our expertise with regard to all facets of TPE. In it, we share vital information about TPE specific to hospice agencies—what they are, how to avoid them, and what to do if you receive one.